Efe Ajagba, Nigeria’s rising heavyweight star, has cracked the WBC’s top five, surpassing established names like Deontay Wilder, Luiz Ortiz, Frank Sanchez, and Jared Anderson.
Since his setback to Cuban standout Frank Sanchez in 2021, Ajagba has reeled off five consecutive victories. This impressive run culminated in claiming the WBC Silver heavyweight title with a win over Zhan Kossobutskiy of Kazakhstan.
The 30-year-old has solidified his position with two successful defenses of the WBC Silver belt. He knocked out Joseph Goodall and emerged victorious in a split decision against Guido Vianello in April.
Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk reigns supreme as the undisputed heavyweight champion across all four major sanctioning bodies (WBA, IBF, WBO, WBC). Anthony Joshua leapfrogged Tyson Fury, who lost to Usyk in their May fight in Saudi Arabia, to become the number one contender. Germany’s Agit Kabayel, following his impressive underdog win over Sanchez on the Fury-Usyk undercard, rounds out the top three.
China’s Zhilei Zhang sits at number four after his stunning knockout of former WBC champion Deontay Wilder earlier in June.
Ajagba’s Top Rank stablemate Jared Anderson takes the sixth spot after his dominant win over Ryad Merhy of Belgium in April. The rankings continue with Martin Bakole (Congo) at 7th, Frank Sanchez dropping to 8th, Joe Joyce at 9th, and the undefeated Bakhodir Jalolov completing the top ten.
Top boxers outside of the top 10 WBC-ranked fighters include Otto Wallin, Fabio Wardley, Deontay Wilder, Luiz Ortiz, Dillian Whyte, Dereck Chisora, and Kubrat Pulev amongst others.
Nicknamed “The Silent Roller,” Ajagba seeks to extend his winning streak, aiming for a lucrative fight against the likes of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, or even the undisputed champion Usyk.
